In a paper published last week, scientists at Johns Hopkins University say that a single dose of psilocybin routinely brings about positive psychological changes that can last for months. This lasting effect is surprising and mysterious, the scientists said, but seems to be the result of what they call powerful drug-induced ``mystical experiences" that include a feeling of the sacredness and oneness of the universe. More than two-thirds of the volunteers described their session with the drug -- several hours in a laboratory, under close monitoring -- as one of the most meaningful and spiritually significant events in their life, on a par with the birth of a child or the death of a parent...
Twenty-two of 36 participants described the psilocybin experience in terms that meet the criteria of a ``full mystical experience," according to a standard psychological scale. This includes a sense of the unity and interconnectedness of the universe, a feeling of being in the presence of overwhelming love or grace, a sense that space and time have collapsed, and an inability to describe the experience in words. Afterward, many participants also said they still felt that their drug-induced perceptions were ``more real" than ordinary reality, another refrain of mystics throughout the ages.